Jackson attorney Michael Wallace, hired by the Legislative leadership to contest the ballot title language approved by a Hinds County circuit judge for a legislative alternative to a citizen-sponsored initiative, was paid $60,222.01 in state funds.

The House Management Committee and Senate Rules Committee, the two panels that handle the day-to-day operations of the two chambers, voted in late March to hire Wallace “for not more than $400 per hour.”

Legislative Democrats opposed the decision, but were unsuccessful in blocking it.